Faculty of Health Associate Professor Ruth Robbio is exploring how virtual mentoring can better support nursing students as they transition into the workforce, and help address ongoing challenges with burnout and retention in the field.
“New grads are not staying in nursing,” says Robbio, who teaches in the School of Nursing at żě˛ĄĘÓƵ. “It’s a lot of sacrifices they’re making, a lot of money they are spending, to not stay in nursing.”
High turnover and ongoing staffing pressures affect not only individual nurses but also the broader health care system, Robbio says. Her work focuses on addressing burnout and retention challenges that emerge early in nurses’ careers.
Many new graduates face a difficult shift as they enter professional practice where support can be limited and workplace pressures high. These challenges were further intensified during the COVID‑19 pandemic, which disrupted clinical placements and contributed to work fatigue among practising nurses.
That transition period prompted Robbio to focus on mentorship and social connection as ways to help students build confidence, resilience and a sense of belonging as they move into the workforce. However, through her doctoral work in 2018 – titled "E-Mentoring as a Socialization Strategy for New Graduate Nurse Role Transitions and Workplace Adjustment" – Robbio confirmed that traditional in‑person mentoring models can be difficult to sustain due to competing priorities, scheduling conflicts and heavy workloads.
In 2023, supported by a York Academic Innovation Fund grant, Robbio expanded her research by launching a pilot e‑mentoring initiative to explore a more flexible approach. The project examined whether virtual mentoring could offer an accessible, cost‑effective way to overcome common barriers to mentorship. It did so through an interdisciplinary research team consisting of co-principal investigator Mavoy Bertram, an associate professor from the School of Nursing; former Teaching Commons educational developer Lisa Endersby; statistician Hugh McCague from the Institute for Social Research; Helen Brennagh from Learning Technology Services; Stephanie Quail, director of the Open Scholarship Department at żě˛ĄĘÓƵ Libraries; and research assistant Doina Nugent.
The initiative explored how an e‑mentoring model within York's School of Nursing could provide psychosocial guidance, networking opportunities and career support for fourth‑year undergraduate collaborative BScN students.
Following positive responses from both mentors and mentees, Robbio received support through a żě˛ĄĘÓƵ Faculty Association Teaching Fellowship and żě˛ĄĘÓƵ Minor Research Grant to integrate the system directly into the curriculum of an undergraduate nursing leadership course she teaches.
The three‑month program – built on the 2023 research work and started in January 2025 – paired third‑year undergraduates (e‑mentees) with graduate nursing students who are also experienced registered nurses (e‑mentors). The mentors came from within the York community.
“We already have nurses at York who are working on their graduate degrees,” says Robbio. “We have a pool of people who want to give back to the profession while continuing their education.”
Mentors created detailed profiles that included clinical experience, years in practice and personal interests to help foster strong matches. Students were then able to indicate preferred mentors, with efforts made to accommodate those choices where possible.
Once matched, mentors and mentees connected by email, text or Zoom every two weeks. They discussed topics such as goal setting, conflict management, career pathways and work-life balance, supported by a series of online learning modules. Robbio emphasizes the tone of the relationship was central to the initiative’s success.
“It was not so much about preaching to your mentee, but really listening,” she says. “It felt more like a peer‑support relationship.”
At the end of the program, e‑mentees completed a reflective learning assignment to assess their development and experiences. Mentors and mentees were also invited to complete a post‑program satisfaction survey.
The findings were positive. A large majority (86 per cent) of e‑mentors said they would participate again, citing the experience as rewarding and meaningful. Many e‑mentees reported they valued the additional guidance and planned to stay in contact with their mentors. While designed to support undergraduate nursing students, mentors also gained from the experience.
“E‑mentoring was really a reciprocal relationship,” Robbio says, noting that mentors had opportunities to reflect on their own practice, strengthen leadership skills and reconnect with their professional purpose.
Ultimately, the initiative aims to support long‑term retention in the profession. By helping students build resilience, navigate challenges and develop coping strategies early in their careers, Robbio hopes it will make a lasting impact.
“Our goal is that whatever skills they’ve learned – whether it’s resilience, conflict resolution or managing work-life balance – this program will help them stay in nursing,” she says.
Robbio and her team plan to continue work on the initiative. In the fall, she hopes to expand the program to support internationally educated nurses, who may face additional pressures as they transition to working in Canada. She is also exploring ways to involve alumni as e-mentors and believes the model could eventually be adapted for use in other programs and disciplines.
With files from Ruth Robbio